[A]RLINGTON — A Bennington man has been arraigned on a charge of lewd and lascivious conduct after, state police said, he was accused of masturbating in his car Sunday while asking a woman for directions in Arlington.
Vermont State Police Trooper Nicholas Cervero said in his report that Adrian Allen, 21, was arrested Sunday night in Arlington, about three hours after the incident was reported.
According to a police affidavit, a woman called at 6:42 p.m. Sunday to say she had been out for a run on Sunderland Hill Road in Arlington when a white SUV with Florida license plates driven by a man wearing a blue polo shirt stopped, and the man asked her for directions to the Dollar General store in town.
The woman said she began to give the directions when the man told her, “Oh, and you look really good today,” according to the affidavit.
The woman said she looked down and saw that the driver had exposed himself and was masturbating, Cervero wrote.
The woman told police she shouted at the man to leave and he drove off northbound before returning and passing her while traveling southbound.
Cervero wrote that a be-on-the-lookout notice was issued for the vehicle, and at 9:36 p.m. Sunday, a 2011 Nissan Murano with Florida plates was seen parked near a residence on Old Mill Road in Arlington. State Police said Sgt. Robert Zink located a male at the residence who was identified as Allen.
According to the affidavit, Allen told police he was driving earlier on Sunderland Hill Road and saw a woman jogging. He “thought she was attractive and wanted to talk to her,” Cervero wrote, and Allen “advised he was shy and did not know what to say, so he stopped his vehicle and asked [the woman] for directions to the Dollar General.”
Allen told police the woman “began to give him directions and then became angry and told him to leave,” according to the affidavit, and he “did not know why [the woman] became angry.”
Allen told police he was holding his cellphone in his hand and attempting to turn down his music while he talked to the woman, Cervero wrote, and he denied masturbating while talking to her.
Allen was arrested Sunday and held on $5,000 bail pending his arraignment Monday.
He denied the charge in Bennington Superior Court Criminal Division. Judge William Cohen modified the $5,000 bail to allow posting of 10 percent in cash, which was posted.
The judge also issued release conditions that Allen must abide by a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew at his Bennington residence and stay away from the alleged victim.
